Mail deadline looms as 1.28M Ga. voters cast ballots early so far

ATLANTA, Ga. - Georgia voters are running out of time to request an absentee ballot by mail for the Nov. 3 election.

Friday is the last day to submit an absentee ballot application to your county registrar if you want to receive a ballot by mail, according to the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office and local election officials. Completed absentee ballots must be received by county registrars no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day.

State officials warn that timing matters.

It can take up to two weeks for your county to process your request and mail out a ballot, and if you return it by mail, they recommend allowing another two weeks for it to make it back and be counted.

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Voters can also bypass the mail and return completed absentee ballots directly to their county registrar or place them in an official county absentee ballot drop box.

Ballot status can be tracked on Georgia’s My Voter Page at mvp.sos.ga.gov.

The deadline comes as Georgians continue to turn out in big numbers for in-person early voting.

In-personm early voting kicked off across the Peach State on Oct. 13

So far, 1,278,739 ballots have already been cast across the state during the first several days of early voting, according to daily totals from election officials. The last day of early voting in Georgia is Oct. 30.

The last day of early voting in Georgia is Oct. 30.

How to find an early voting location:

• Go to mvp.sos.ga.gov.
• Log in with your first initial, last name, county you are registered to vote in, and your date of birth.
• Scroll down to “Early Voting Polling Locations.” From there, you’ll be able to see all of the polling locations and the date and hours available for early voting.

On the absentee-by-mail side, the U.S. Postal Service says its network is operating normally and that ballot delivery performance is strong heading into the final weeks of the election cycle.

Postal officials said they are prepared to handle ballots securely and on time, noting that nearly 98% of ballot mail so far this season has met their delivery standards. The Postal Service is urging voters to “do their part and mail early,” recommending that domestic voters send completed ballots at least one week before local election offices must receive them.

For voters who are concerned about postmarks or timing, USPS says you can take your completed ballot envelope to a retail post office counter and ask for a manual postmark at no charge, or choose to return your ballot directly to local election officials using an approved drop box or in-person delivery.

About the key races

Georgians will decide who the next governor will be. Whoever wins will be at the forefront of change following two terms under Gov. Brian Kemp.

Another major race Georgia voters will decide is who will represent the state in the U.S. Senate.

Along with the governor’s race and the U.S. Senate race, all of the other statewide executive races are also on the ballot.

There are two Public Service Commission races that will be decided in November.